DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Restaurants, stores, multi-family apartments, single-family homes, and even hotels. That is what people can expect from the $200-million Delta Crossings project going up off Saginaw highway in Delta Township.
"The development itself is a 200-plus-acre mixed-use development that is going to be a five to ten-year plan," said Kris Krstovski, the owner and operator of K2 Retail Construction & Development.
Krstovski says it's expensive to do ground-up developments, and what hurts them the most is the public roads and infrastructure, which is why his company asked for an incentive from the township: a corridor improvement authority that will capture new property tax revenues created by the project and use them to pay for improvements in the corridor district.
"A self-imposed TIF that does not cost the taxpayers anything within the township. It's just more of a payback of the public road and infrastructure that it's going to take to develop the artery of this development," said Krstovski.
Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher says the board voted for the CIA because it gives them another tool to revitalize the Saginaw corridor, especially areas like the Lansing Mall.
Phase one of Delta Crossings will include TJ Maxx, which is moving from the Lansing Mall, along with Hobby Lobby, Sierra, Bob's Discount Furniture, Texas Roadhouse, and a couple of other tenants they're finalizing. The grand opening is set for September.
"We had just finalized our deal for phase two, which is going to be our major anchor of this retail section of the development, which is BJ's Wholesale," said Krstovski.
Phase two is scheduled to start in March. The developer is planning a total of six phases.
Fletcher says the project is a good thing for Delta Township and that it's important to evolve with the times.
"Retail has changed as a result of internet shopping," Fletcher said. "Stores are drawing from a wider radius to bring in their customers. They a lot of times want a smaller footprint. They don't stock as much merchandise in the store, and they have more available online. So that's why long term, I think it's important to offer what retail is looking for here in Delta. Otherwise, they will just leave and go to other areas."
Fletcher said another benefit of the project is the creation of both retail and construction jobs.
"The construction is creating a lot of great paying local jobs. There's a local project labor agreement for the project, so they're using exclusively local labor unions to build this. So, a lot of great jobs are being created right now with the construction phase. So that's why the project was very strongly supported by local unions here in the capital region," he said.
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